For the third year in a row, Crédit Agricole Private Equity will manage two FCPI funds (mutual funds investing in innovative companies), which allow individual investors to benefit from tax provisions relating to wealth tax and income tax under the TEPA law.

Capital Invest PME 2010 fund will be offered to customers of LCL. CA Investissement 2 fund will be offered to customers of the Crédit Agricole Regional Banks. Amundi Private Equity Funds, a subsidiary of Amundi, the asset management company 75%-owned by Crédit Agricole S.A., has chosen to delegate management of the portion allocated to innovative companies to Crédit Agricole Private Equity.

By investing in these funds, taxpayers benefit from a reduction in wealth tax and income tax of up to 40% of the amount invested.

Capital Invest PME 2010 and CA Investissement 2 will invest 60% of their assets in innovative European SMEs in the information technologies and life sciences sectors. Two-thirds of this amount (i.e. 40% of the funds' assets) will be invested in companies set up less than five years ago.

In 2008 and 2009, Crédit Agricole Private Equity collected €87 million via its wealth tax FCPI funds, to which nearly 8,165 private investors subscribed, representing an average investment of €10,700. These funds have already selected and committed to investing in 19 innovative SMEs, most of which are in the internet and life sciences sectors.

With assets under management of €430 million, Crédit Agricole Private Equity is one of the key players in France in SME financing and seed finance via management of its FCPI funds.